Scientists are getting all teary-eyed and superstitious about the Mars Rover Opportunity, since Oppy (as it is lovingly called) has not sent any signals for over 80 days. On June 10, Opportunity went into sleep mode when a giant dust storm swept across Mars and cut off its source of solar energy. The storm has now subsided and NASA scientists are waiting for Oppy to wake up and call home. The solar panels are probably covered in dust and Opportunity is expected to have experienced a “low-power fault, and then perhaps, a mission clock fault.”
Scientists are calling for tweeting the hashtags #WakeUpOppy and #SaveOppy today, hoping to provide some psychic energy (?) to Oppy to wake up from its deep coma. Perhaps, there is some other scientific/programmatic/funding reason for this campaign.
A call for emotional action -
All Eyes and Ears on Oppy -
Oppy’s current location -
There does seem to be some other reason behind this campaign, perhaps NASA is planning to pull resources away from this project soon?
A Look Back at the Incredible Voyage -
The Darned Despicable Dastardly Dust Storm
Thanks for the Incredible Images and Science -
Thanks for the Memories
Hang in there little wonder, we are all rooting for you -
We all wish you will live forever -
A Little Poem can do wonders -
From former Opportunity Flight Director and Rover Driver
You are our eyes and ears millions of miles away.
Fun Facts
The rover is powered by solar arrays which generate about 140 watts for up to four hours per Martian day (sol). The rover needs about 100W to drive. Two rechargeable lithium ion batteries weighing 7.15 kg each, provide energy when the sun is not shining, especially at night.
For comparison, the Curiosity rover is powered by a Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG). The MMRTG is designed to provide 125 W of electrical power at the start of the mission, falling to 100 W after 14 years of service.
Opportunity uses a radiation-hardened 20 MHz RAD6000 CPU with 128 MB of DRAM, 3 MB of EEPROM and 256 MB of flash memory. OS = VxWorks. At night, the rover is heated by eight radioisotope heater units (RHU), which each continuously generate 1 W of thermal energy from the decay of radioisotopes, along with electrical heaters that operate only when necessary.
More info at en.wikipedia.org/...
Epilogue
Keep in mind that it may take several weeks for Opportunity to wake up as the dust on its solar panels drifts off and its batteries start charging again. We also hope that the electronics and batteries survived the cold temperatures as low as -36oC as the internal heater has been turned off. Temperatures will continue to fall as the dust storm abates.
Let’s tweet #WakeUpOppy and #SaveOppy and hope our wishes and prayers reach Oppy and also NASA program managers.
Further Reading
- Will Mars Rover Opportunity Survive Monster Dust Storm? It's Still Too Soon to Tell — www.space.com/…
- Six Things About Opportunity's Recovery Efforts — mars.nasa.gov/…
- Space Rituals and Superstitions — www.dailykos.com/...